So uh...Where'd All My Stations Go?

[jdmccall]

A few days ago, after tweaking my antenna and connections, I reprogrammed my tuner (NAD C 427). Forty stations, many very quiet in stereo, some only quiet in mono and a few a bit noisey even in mono. Still, all in all I thought that was pretty good considering my location in the middle of nowhere, which in my case is 100 miles south of KC and 60 miles north of Joplin. Then today I sat down for a little NPR and got...absolutely nothing. I could only get the one station in my hometown. Most other stations that were clean and strong two days ago were unlistenable today. I actually thought I must have lost connection to my antenna. That's how bad it was. So I checked everything and all was well, connection-wise. What the heck is going on here? I've never seen this kind of fluctuation of signal strength on the fm band in my life. Sure some days are good and some not so good, but this is extreme. Is this normal these days? I really have not been paying much attention to fm until just recently with the purchase of my new NAD tuner.

 

[petehall347]

bad connection or sun spot activity . just a guess .

 

[jdmccall]

..."the lucky old sun...ain't got nothin' to do...but roll around heaven all day." --and screw up my FM!

 

[KingBubba]

You setup at night most likely. Wait till night and your stations will most likely come back.

 

[WaynerN]

What do you mean by "tweaked the antenna"? did you move/rotate it?

Wayner

 

[Maron Horonzakz]

They could have upped the power at night,,,

 

[Brian]

Check with another fm radio, even the car radio and see if there is a similar issue. If not then an antenna or tuner issue. Simple to check if the antenna, just sub in a simple antenna such as a dipole ribbon. If picking up stations, then you did something with the antenna. If no station, your new NAD sadly bit the dust.

 

[jdmccall]

What do you mean by "tweaked the antenna"? did you move/rotate it?

Wayner

I just checked and cleaned all connections, plus I raised it on the mast about a foot.

They could have upped the power at
night,,,

possibly... -good to see your name pop up, Maron. I remember enjoying reading many of your posts on the klipsch forums a few years back.

Check with another fm radio, even the car radio and see if there is a similar issue. If not then an antenna or tuner issue. Simple to check if the antenna, just sub in a simple antenna such as a dipole ribbon. If picking up stations, then you did something with the antenna. If no station, your new NAD sadly bit the dust.

Did that today. Checked performance of a little Onkyo CD/Receiver in m. bedroom. It's fm is supplied by give-away dipole. It was pulling'em in pretty good. RATS! Time to double-check connections to NAD in big-boy rig. Only thing obvious was loose fit at both ends of slip-on connector RG-59 coax running from tuner to wall plate. I switched that out with an RG-6 with threaded connectors...ah, much better, but still not where it was a few days ago. Now that may be due to atmospherics. Hmmm?

You setup at night most likely. Wait till night and your stations will most likely come back.

Actually, I think I set it up in the daylight hours, but of course I can't remember exactly something I did only a few days ago because my brain is defective. :sigh: